Markets

Rick Warren, Publishing Entrepreneur

By BNET Editor

Updated on: January 27, 2009 / 3:22 PM EST / MoneyWatch

Rick Warren, powerful evangelist, Obama inaugural ceremony prayer-giver and author of the best selling "Purpose Driven Life," is launching "Purpose Driven Connection," a quarterly magazine for the evangelical community, reports the Wall Street Journal.

In some respects, the venture represents a sweet spot for publishers, who often think of their brands not as magazines but as tools to unite a community around a shared interest. The new publication has a headliner with legions of loyal disciples linked by their devotion to a subject far more profound than home furnishings or celebrity gossip--
One of advantages of the new venture might be that its founders consider it a consumer product first and an advertising vehicle second, and they say they don't have to rely on advertising for success. Reader's Digest will charge $30 for a subscription to its bundle of Purpose Driven Connection-related products that includes a Christian social-networking site to be launched in February.

Publishers are having an especially tough time during the recession. Yet Mr. Warren is as good a capitalist as he is a preacher. He pays little to no income taxes by exploiting IRS loopholes for nonprofits, as reported by The Nation. And there are up to 100 million evangelicals in American who could keep buying into the Rick Warren brand.

Do you think Rick Warren's magazine venture has a winning business model? Should pastors profit off of their flock? Discuss below.

This post first appeared in BNET's Dog and Pony blog.